Improvement in watches



H. S'TAUFFER.

Watch.

Patented June 14, 1870.

[Ia await- To all whom it may concern dlnitml snow 133M111 Gtjifiire,

HENRY- STAUFFER, OF PONTS-MARTEL, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR TO NORDMANN BROTHERS, 'OF NEW YORK CITY.

Letters Patent No. 104,371, dated June 14, 187 0.

IMPROVEMENT IN" WATCHES.

.Ihe Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.-

Be it known that I, HENRY Smurrnn, of Ponts- Martel, in Switzerland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Watches; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the'art to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in watches,

and consists in an arrangement of the large second hand, commonly called dead-second, to beat full seconds at one heat, instead of making several beats to a second, as they now do.

It also consists in arranging it to beat in unison with the quarter second, the same being connected together by gearing, arranged in a novel manner, as hereinafter more fully specified.

-The drawing represents a face view of a watch arranged according to my improvements, and having a part of the dial broken out to show thearrangement of the connecting gears.

The post of the quarter second, a, is geared by a small pinion, l), with a large wheel, 0, called the fourth wheel of the train, and receives its motion thereby, in the usual way.

The shaft of the wheel is provided with a starwheel, 11, of eight teeth, which gears with a wheel, e, of sixty teeth, on a sinall spindle in the axis of the shafts, which carry the ;hour and minute hands, and on which, at the top, the dead-second, f, is supported.-

The teeth of theivheel c are pointed, and the pitch is much less than that of the star-wheel, whose teeth are also pointed, and are -also set tangentially to a small circle surrounding the axis, and so adjusted, relatively to the teeth of the wheel 0, that, while the wheel (I has a constant motion, its teeth will only touch those 'of wheel 0 at the point, moving said wheel 0 a short distance, and then escaping, and allowing it a period of rest until the next tooth of 11.

sixty movements to wheel 0 in a minute, and the movements of the latter carry the dead second full second beats.

The wheel 0 is'provided with a spring pawl, g, having a triangular-shaped bit, which engages with the teeth, and stops and holds it at the end of each movement. This spring may have a friction roller in the face or point,.which acts on the teeth of the wheel, if preferred. A friction bar being on a smooth rim may be used in place of the spring.

In making this arrangement, the shaft of the fourth wheel, 0, of the train is raised above the plate h,wlierc it is commonly jonrnaled, and is supported in the upper end in a plate, 2', introduced for the purpose, and also for the rest of the lower. ends of the shafts which \carry the hands.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with the spindle of the dead second, and the shaft of the wheel 0 of the starwheel at, and the wheel e, arranged to cause the dead second to beat seconds, and in unison witlrthc quarter-second hand, all substantially as specified,

2. The combination, with the wheel 0 on the spindle, of the dead second, and the star-wheel of the spring pawl g, or equivalent, substantially as specified.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 31st day of December, 1869.

HENRY STAUFFER.

Witnesses:

J onus Inonnns, PAUL BENGUEREL. 

